Remember in 2006-2009 when Guitar hero and rock band games ruled the gaming world? When you'd pick up that little plastic Gibson Explorer guitar controller and try to beat "Jordan" by Buckethead? Or trying just to make it through "through the fire and the flames" by DragonForce, challenging friends to put up the top score on some of the greatest rock & metal songs in history. Well that's the feeling this controller tries to capture, and for the most part, it does a good job. The feet buttons feel good, closer to the rock band controllers than the GH ones, but they're easy to press, you can tell you have pressed them and they have small color slits on the sides of the frets, rather than the whole button being colored, something I do actually like, I cant describe it but the full colored buttons look cheap somehow. If I could change one thing about this it's the strum button, it lacks that signature click we all remember from those old school controllers! Other than that it's perfect! The battery lasts long, the price is reasonable and the connection is quick and it stays connected even if you go downstairs to get a drink with it lol With rock band 4 still having DLC available, and Epic games launching Fortnite festival, a sort of spiritual successor of guitar hero and now red octane releasing Stage tour this year, now is the perfect time to pick up a new guitar controller and hit the stage! I can't recommend the PDP Riff master enough! It's a fantastic, well built controller with responsive buttons and it's wireless, but without the input lag. If toure looking to relive your glory days, pick up this guitar, grab a copy of rock band 4 and fortnite festival, download your favorite songs and SHRED my dudes 🤘 Read more
After searching for a quality guitar controller for Rock Band and Clone Hero, the PDP Riffmaster exceeded my expectations. It feels robust and comfortable in your hands, with responsive fret buttons and a smooth strum bar that performs like the classic controllers. Setup was simple, the wireless connectivity is solid with low latency, and the rechargeable battery lasts for hours. While it lacks the classic clicky strum feel of older models, the audio jack and collapsible design show a thoughtful upgrade that makes it well worth the price. Read more
I was on the hunt for a guitar controller to use for Clone Hero, so initially I was looking at a bunch of used guitars from old guitar hero games, but always got skeptical buying any because of quality concern or if they even worked properly, and then any of the like-new to brand new ones I would find were way too expensive to justify buying them, and even further more I know that there’s custom modding for guitar hero guitars but I just wasn’t ready to make that type of investment, because those are the most expensive of all….then after awhile I stumbled upon this thing. It’s very good for what it is, but there’s some pros and cons that I’m about to list to help you make your decision. Pros: • The build quality is very nice. You can tell that PDP made sure this thing is gonna last you a while. • It’s wireless, and also has a rechargeable battery. Super convenient for my set up. • The buttons feel good and smooth and the same for the strum bar. • It’s got a small analog stick on the back of the neck to use on the Xbox for the Fortnite guitar hero-like game mode they created to navigate menus so that’s a plus. • It’s also foldable which is very nice for storage • It’s brand new! No need to worry about a broken guitar. Cons: • For me this is more neutral but I can see this as a con for a lot of people, but this guitar is a Rockband guitar. It has the exact soft sort of mushy feel, and button/strum bar style as a traditional Rockband guitar so if those aren’t your thing then you probably aren’t going to like this one, but for me I don’t mind at all. • If you’re buying the Xbox version like I did (I have a Series X so it made sense) then in order for you to use this on PC it is not plug and play like the PlayStation version is. You need to install 2 pieces of software: ViGEmBus, and RB4Instrument mapper in order for Clone Hero to detect the guitar. (at least right now at the time of this review). The only thing to note is that if you choose the PlayStation version, it does not have tilt function or whammy function according to other people’s reviews but the Xbox one does after setting up the pieces of software. • It isn’t the cheapest thing in the world, but to me it’s worth an investment because it plays very well and will last a long time since it’s new. • If you're someone that does those extreme tap shredding CH charts like the ones the streamer Açaí does, this guitar isn’t exactly set up for that kind of thing so it probably wouldn’t be ideal for you. I’m sure it’s possible but I’ve heard from many people that Rockband guitars just aren’t ideal for that style of playing. All in all, this thing is extremely solid for regular people that came from Guitar Hero that wanna play some of their favorite songs and more custom ones with ease. 9.5/10 guitar controller that I think most people will love. Read more
Love it! Great replacement. I was always holding onto broken guitars I would find at flea markets or whatever to Frankenstein my old guitar back to life. Finally a new one! Works flawlessly, great charge, no more batteries. Nice buttons. And the strum feels nice. Not as “clicky” as the Guitar Hero ones but not as “mushy” as the Rockband stratos. A perfect middle ground. It’s just so smooth. Read more
I was advertised this product on social media and bought it based on influencer videos and reviews. I first used the controller for Rock Band 4 on my PS5 and it worked great. Fret buttons and strum bar are just like a Rock Band controller. The joystick on the back of the neck is a fun feature but often I forget its there and almost never use it, but it doesn't get in the way while you're playing. The start and select buttons are kind of close to where I have my pinky finger while playing so I will often hit those buttons accidentally while I'm playing. This controller will work on Clone Hero but it does require a bit of setup and unfortunately I can not get the tilt (star power) or whammy bar to work in Clone Hero. The glossy finish shows a lot of finger prints on the body. I haven't had any problems with the buttons or anything deteriorating after a year and about 200 hours of heavy use. Overall this controller is a little over-priced but not a terrible value, just make sure to do a little shopping around first before going for the Riffmaster specifically. Read more
